


A Little Closer to the Sea

by Nigg



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aerial Dance, Aerialist Lance - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dancer Lance (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s04e04 The Voltron Show, Gay Keith (Voltron), Homesickness, Lance (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Lance (Voltron) is a Tease, M/M, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, Pining Keith (Voltron), post-season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 06:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15657954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigg/pseuds/Nigg
Summary: When the Voltron team finds Sam Holt and decides to record some messages for him to take to Earth, Lance's homesickness is at its worst. Not finding any support in his teammates, he lets out those emotions in his aerial dance for the Voltron show.It would be a perfect plan, if it wasn't that Keith sees him and instantly notices that something is wrong.





	A Little Closer to the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I'm so happy to finally post this story, it's been written for the Sharpshooter zine, a free zine released for Lance's birthday to celebrate our precious Paladin! There are a lot of amazing artists and writers in it, if you want to check it out, [here's the complete work](https://sharpshooterzine.tumblr.com/post/176393358372/happy-birthday-lance)!!  
> I've had the honor to collaborate with Red for this piece and their art legit made me cry!! [Go give them some love!!](http://red--rosso.tumblr.com/)  
> There's a Spotify playlist, including the songs for Lance's choreographies and others I listened to while I was writing, [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/user/b0oa7960tjtrqaijs1czobijv/playlist/5tViEfNlTZBuCRAfJUyOjS?si=u7MAIV7ISv2gX_ikNm87gw).  
> And if you want to come scream at me, here's [my Tumblr](https://onpointedfeetandbrokendreams.tumblr.com/).  
> I hope you'll enjoy!!

_ It snows so much in the mountains and you can’t go back _

_ An avalanche falls and leaves you a little closer to the sea _

_ I’ll come look for you wherever you are _

_ I’ll step on the ice with my bare feet  _

_ Losing my balance  _

_ And freezing at once _

_ [ _ Arranquemos del Invierno - Tú En Las Montañas Y Yo En El Mar _ ]  _

 

The mission was supposed to be easy. Land, act casual, and while everyone is distracted with the Voltron show, look around and gather information about possible Galra activities. The problem is that ever since he heard the words ‘Voltron show’ he hasn’t been able to focus. Voltron is here. Meaning Shiro, Lance, Allura, Coran, Pidge and Hunk are here. He hasn’t seen any of them in person for a long time, they have been talking only through coms, to a point where he almost can’t remember how they look like when they aren’t blurred and bidimensional on a screen. He scans the area for Galra presence with his radar but the names keep echoing in the back of his mind.  _ Shiro. Lance. Coran. Allura. _ He realizes that he is tapping his index finger repeatedly on his tight and he can’t read the response of his scan.  _ Shiro. Lance. _ He mutters a curse, tosses his hood on and starts running.

He hears the music before he sees them. It’s a very sweet tune, wistful, that makes him feel a sadness in his heart that he can’t explain. He looks up to see the Red Lion and a long rope hanging from it. Soon after, a soft voice begins to sing in Spanish and a boy in his Blue Paladin armor climbs down along the rope, dancing.

_ El abominable hombre de las montañas no te quiere dejar [1] _

He flips backward, hooking his knee to the rope and lets his arms dangle. His gaze is lost in the distance. Walking closer to get a better look, Keith is struck by the abandonment in his gestures and the longing in his eyes.

_ Que bajes a verme antes que empieza y ya no pare de nevar _

The dancer shifts, rolling the rope around his middle and curls up on it. Then, in a breath, he launches himself, losing his grip on the rope and turning as he falls until he isn’t tangled anymore.

_ Caiga tanta nieve en las montañas y ya no puedas regresar _

He stays there, hanging with only his leg knotted in the rope to hold him up. He looks so lonely and melancholic that Keith’s heart clenches. 

_ Baje una avalancha y te deje un poco más cerca del mar _

What happened since the last time they met?

_ Yo voy a buscarte donde estés _

The Paladin climbs back on the rope, unknotting his leg and flipping backward to hook his other knee, the position mirroring the one he was in at the beginning.

_ Yo voy pisando el hielo con mis pies _

This time he doesn’t fall, though. Instead, he holds the rope steady with his feet as he turns slowly, ending up in an upside-down split.

_ Pierdo el equilibrio _

The Red Lion starts to take off as the Paladin straightens up to wave and bow, clinging to the rope as it gets pulled.

_ Y me congeló de una vez _

Keith keeps looking, frozen on his spot, unaware of what happens next on the makeshift stage, unable to get out of his head the image of Lance, looking so lost, lonely and sad as he danced.

Eventually, he has to snap out of his reverie and go back to his mission. To his luck, when he brings his attention back to the scans, he sees that there wasn’t any sign of Galra presence and his superiors didn’t notice his momentary absence but as he puts his radar away and sends a report to the base, he realizes that he won’t be able to return to the Blade. At least not until he finds out what happened with the Paladins. So he turns off his communicator, slips it in his pocket, and moves to the area where the inhabitants of the planet are celebrating Voltron.

When he spots his previous teammates gathered together and silently approaches them, he hears Lance mumble some lame excuses to retreat to the Castle. He expects the others to stop him and ask him if something is wrong, considering he is requesting to  _ abandon a party _ , yet no one seems to notice. Don’t they see him? Keith almost feels the need to punch them. He looks between Shiro and Lance, conflicted, and decides to address the most urgent matter first.

“Hey Lance! Hi! I saw you dancing, is… everything okay?” He says, running after him and ignoring the surprised looks the others throw his way upon hearing his voice.

Lance’s expression shifts when the words register, Keith can glimpse a million different emotions overlapping on his face, each fighting to be acknowledged first. In the end, he sets on doing something Keith couldn’t have imagined in his weirdest dream. He jumps to hug him, shouting his name with…  _ Relief _ ? And Keith thinks things must be really bad if he is happy to see  _ him _ , of all people.

“Lance? You are hugging me,” he whispers to his ear, as if stating the facts would somehow give them meaning.

Lance doesn’t let go, just nods and replies “I know”.

It feels awkward but also strangely comfortable, Keith has never been one for displays of affections, especially in public, but as he feels Lance’s arms encircling him and his breath sending shivers down his neck, he finds an odd sense of belonging. He realizes how much he has missed the other Paladins and the little family they had created, and the overly-dramatic reaction the other is having is so unequivocally  _ Lance _ that he can’t suppress a fond chuckle. 

“I’m sorry,” Lance says, finally stepping away from him, giving him his personal space back.

He smiles, shaking his head. “Don’t be, it’s okay. Would you like to talk? I shut down my communicator and I have already reported to the base so I should be clear for a while.”

Lance’s eyes widen. “Yes, that would be nice.”

They walk, putting some distance between them and the other members of team Voltron and venture into some sort of town. The place is not very different from what they would see on Earth, there are paved roads, shops and houses, people going about their businesses and talking to each other. The only difference is that the buildings are incredibly smaller in size and none of them has the same shape as the next one, some even continuing under the surface of the planet.

“We found Pidge’s father,” Lance starts, out of the blue.

“Yes, I know?”

“Hm… He brought along some messages for our families when he returned to Earth.”

“Oh,” Keith says, not knowing if he feels bad or grateful for being left out.

“Yeah, it made me think about them, you know? Not that I didn’t think about them before but… Actually having the chance to say something to them, it made me think… I don’t even know if they are all fine, what they think about me, if they think that I died or…”

He is starting to ramble so Keith looks at him in the eye with all the calmness he can muster. “Breathe, it’s okay. It’s good that you have been able to say something to them, isn’t it? And you weren’t alone in dealing with it, you had the others by your side.”

Lance’s face falls. “Yes, it is. I’m happy that we got this opportunity but… I don’t know, Pidge was rightfully overwhelmed because she was saying goodbye to her father and I really needed Hunk to understand me but he was… And lately Shiro is antagonizing me every step of the way, I don’t know why, it seems like he doesn’t trust my opinion. I’m not proud of it but it got too much and I cried and basically the only one who sympathized with me was Coran, who doesn’t need to be burdened by someone else’s problems considering what he went through, does he?” He chuckles humorlessly and forces himself to stop. He turns to Keith with an apologetic smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to throw all of this at you, either.”

“It’s fine, Lance, I get it. It must have been hard,” Keith replies.

“That’s not even it,” Lance says with a sigh, running his hands through his hair, “the truth is that I’m angry at myself for being this messed up. I wanted to be stronger, Blue chose me, and then Red accepted me as her pilot, I don’t want to let anyone down, I want to be up to the task we have been given.”

Keith knows he is bad at comforting people but he can’t bear to stand there and watch Lance think so little of himself when he is, honestly, one of the most amazing people he knows. He gathers up his courage and blurts it out:

“And you are, Lance! We are far away from our houses and our planet, it is completely normal to feel that way, feeling nostalgic or worrying for your family, or even having a moment of weakness doesn’t make you  _ messed up _ , it makes you human.”

He sees Lance staring at him like he is looking for some answer there. To what, Keith doesn’t know, he just hopes he said the right thing. He begins to think that maybe he did because then Lance straightens his back and nods, a new fire in his gaze. Keith releases a breath. Now he recognizes him, here’s the assured, determined, beautiful Paladin he was used to.

Not knowing what else to say that won’t make him cross some boundaries or ruin the moment, he focuses back on the street in front of them and resumes strolling among the alien shops. Lance follows him, quickening his pace to reach his side and they fall into step easily with one another, commenting on everything they see and talking about nothing for longer than they meant to stay away from their responsibilities.

“We should probably get back,” Keith says.

“I guess... Are you returning to the Blade?”

“Yeah, I have to.”

His next words leave Keith’s mouth without him even realizing he had formed them in his mind, he has no excuse for why they do and he regrets them as soon as they are out in the open but it’s already too late. “We can see each other again? If you want to talk, or something.”

He snaps his mouth shut and tentatively glances at Lance, afraid of his reaction, but the taller boy only grins. “I’d be very happy to.”

“Really?? Hm… Okay, then...” He trails off, this is stupid, they are here to fight a war not to  _ hang out _ .

“It’s a date! Now come say hi to the others or they would kill me for stealing you away for so long.”

Lance’s smile isn’t faltering so he can only nod. They get back and he exchanges some details about his mission with Shiro and listens to their plans for the following days, pointedly ignoring their questions about what he and Lance had talked about. When he finishes catching up with them, he turns his communicator on again and returns to the Blade. 

He is surely going to be reproached for his behavior, maybe even punished but, seeing Lance laughing and looking so much more at ease now as they say goodbye, he doesn’t care in the slightest. A friend needed him and he is certain he did the right thing.

 

 

The music resonates perfectly in the Red Lion’s hangar where Lance is rehearsing.

_ Woah Woah Woah Woah Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for [2] _

He ties up his ankles with a smile playing on his lips. This song always makes his heart beat fast, its rhythm gives him the feeling of a cheering crowd, there only for him, and he absolutely loves it. Once he is sure that the knot will hold he hoists himself up, hanging onto the rope tightly, patiently waiting for the right moment.

_ Woah Woah Woah Woah Been searching in the dark, your sweat soaking through the floor _

He simply lets go. His arms raised gracefully over his head, his eyes closed, the air rushes out of his body and he stands there, appreciating the feeling of falling and falling, until it’s time for the next line and he has to be ready. 

_ And buried in your bones there's an ache that you can't ignore _

He grabs the rope from behind his head and turns it with his hands to build momentum before letting it go again, his smile wide as he rotates, meeting the eye of each and every one of his imaginary viewers.

_ Taking your breath, stealing your mind and all that was real is left behind _

He is so caught up in his practice and in his fantasy that he almost doesn’t notice the very real smirk he meets nose to upside-down nose in his spin.

“Keith!” He yelps, making the other burst out laughing.

“Hi, Lance,” Keith replies. “That’s more like it!” 

His content and amused voice warms Lance’s heart and it almost  _ almost  _ makes up for the scare. He hurries to climb back up and untie himself, then as he slides down, an idea hits him.

“Hey man, check this out,” he says, voice low and dangerous.

“Try not to kill yourself to show off, Lance,” comes the deadpan reply, not that he wasn’t expecting it. 

He wiggles his eyebrows. “Don’t worry, with these powerful arms I have nothing to worry about.”

He rolls the rope around his knees and resumes his upside-down position, his back stretched in a sinuous line and his hands on the rope behind his head.

“Powerful arms? Those two noodles?” Keith counters but he steps closer to see better and maybe to be at arm’s length in case he needs his help? Lance isn’t sure. He shrugs it off because that question, right there, is a challenge, if Lance has ever heard one. And since Lance has complete trust in his athletic capabilities, being a dancer and a gymnast, he is definitely not going to back off from it. He carefully loosens the grip of his legs on the rope and pivoting on his hands, he does a half somersault deliberately slow, before landing with his feet on the ground and his heads up and turning to him with a smug and defiant grin. “You were saying?”

Keith clears his throat, trying and failing to hide the crimson that’s coloring his pale cheeks. The word ‘cute’ echoes in Lance’s mind but he slaps himself out of it because no, no, noooope, there’s no way Keith looks anything near cute. Ever. At all. He decides to focus on the impressed look he is giving him instead, which is more than a little fueling Lance’s confidence. 

“Don’t drool on my training rope, now,” he says, suggestively, completing it all with a wink.

That seems to bring Keith back to reality. He crosses his arms, schooling his expression into a frown and he snaps: 

“I wasn’t drooling.”

“Sure...” Lance sing-songs. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“That… Hm...” He replies, hesitantly. “We were supposed to have a meeting in video conference but I… Asked to come here to listen in person.”

“Oh, good, good.”

Lance begins to gather up his things and head to the door, saying goodbye to Red, when Keith speaks again:

“I have to admit it, that move was pretty impressive.”

Lance blinks rapidly, he needs a moment to realize what Keith is saying and he can’t pass on an opportunity like this to tease him, can he? 

“Well, I know but thank you! Told you you were drooling,” he nudges his arm with his elbow and Keith rolls his eyes. “Remember me to never compliment you again in my life.”

“Oh come on, you know I’m joking, I really appreciate the compliment... But you have to admit that if I had been a girl, that would have been incredibly hot.”

“I-Uhm… Don’t really know. But I like the dance you were doing before, it was very powerful.”

“It was, right?” Lance grins, forgetting for a moment what they were talking about but for some reason the evasive answer keeps nagging at the back of his mind. “Wait. How can you not know?? Of course it would be!”

“Can you let it go, please?” Keith begs, and Lance would maybe be softened by his pout or his pleading eyes but he is biting his bottom lip, like he wants to prevent himself from saying something, so that’s not really an option:

“No, I can’t.”

Keith groans. “Fine… I’m not… Into girls? So… Uhm… It was hotter this way than if… You know… You had been a girl?”

The flush that was already spread over his cheeks is now reaching his neck and ears. 

“Oh.”

“Can we go to the meeting now?” Keith asks, clearly desperate to change the topic.

“I-Yes, of course,” Lance replies. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to force you to tell me that, I thought...”

“It’s okay. It’s not a secret, everyone at the Garrison knew.”

“I’m still sorry, I shouldn’t have pressed you like that.”

He chews the inside of his cheek and the guilt must be visible because Keith puts his hand gently on his arm. “Lance, I wouldn’t have said it if it made me uncomfortable, don’t worry.”

He motions for the door and they start walking in silence. Even though Lance has nodded his understanding, his thoughts and emotions are still twirling. He has never considered this possibility, he hadn’t meant for the conversation to take this turn and among all other things, even if he knows that Keith hasn’t exactly said that he finds  _ him  _ hot, the thought that he  _ could _ like someone like him makes him feel dizzy. His insides twist and a question forms in his mind, one that he isn’t sure he would have the courage to ask out loud.

In the following months, Keith attends the Voltron-Blade alliance meetings in person from the Castle of Lions every time that he can. Sometimes, if he doesn’t have to leave for a mission, he also remains for more than the scheduled time with the Paladins, training or chatting or helping them out with their current projects. The Voltron team is glad to have him back for a while, even if in a different way and the other Blades stop trying to prevent him after they see how regenerated he gets from those visits. He doesn’t even know why that happens, why going there makes him feel lighter and be more focused when he returns to his missions, but there’s no denying it and he chases that feeling. 

His first suspect that this has less to do with being at the Castle and more to do with some of the people he sees there comes one day, when he arrives and finds only Allura, Shiro and Hunk to greet him. They explain that the others are busy visiting a planet and he finds himself wanting to leave as soon as they finish discussing the required topics. He tries not to dwell on it too much but the task becomes nearly impossible the next time he goes, when he is welcomed by Lance and his heart skips a beat.

“Damn,” he mumbles under his breath.

“What? Did you say something?”

“No, no, err… It’s… Good to see you?”

Lance gives him a quizzical look. “You too? Are you okay?”

“Yes, sorry. Let’s go.” 

Since he was worried about him, it made sense that he has been happy to have the chance to see him gradually feel better, confront Hunk on making him feel left out and talk things out with him and Pidge, bringing their trio back in action and stronger than ever. It also made perfect sense that the two of them spent more time together with one another than with the others, because they were the most interested in training and improving their combat and flying skills and less capable of discussing politics or engineering.

That’s probably the reason why he hadn’t realized things had gotten out of control.

“... Keith? Are you there? You kind of spaced out for a bit.”

He looks up to find Lance in front of him. The meeting is over and he hasn’t listened to a word they said. He grits his teeth to prevent another swear from slipping.

“Yeah, I was distracted. What did I miss?” He replies.

The taller boy chuckles. “Nothing important, do you have to go back immediately? There’s something I would like to show you.”

“I...” -  _ Yes, Keith, yes, go back. Now. Don’t stay with Lance any longer than necessary until you figure this out _ \- “No, I can stay for a bit.”

Lance grins and reaches out to take his hand and drag him along the corridor to the Red Lion’s hangar. That’s when Keith realizes that he is doomed. Even more than he thought he was. Because Lance could have only one purpose in taking him there.

“I would like to have your opinion on my new choreography.”

“Why?” Keith all but whines in response, panic suddenly filling every one of his senses.

“No reason...”

He looks anxious, biting his lips and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Keith’s flight reflex gives way to worry in less than a breath. “Is it dangerous?”

“No, no, it’s just… Give me a minute.”

Keith sits down on the corner Lance indicated and waits as the other enters his Lion to get ready. He comes out three minutes later, wearing a dark blue tank top with a flowery pattern in white and grey geometric shorts that do nothing to cover his long, slim, tanned legs. He definitely should have left when he had the chance because this is going to kill him. He forces his eyes to go back up to meet Lance’s and finds that the other is blushing. He hadn’t been very subtle in his staring, had he? Great.

“Could you press Play?” Lance asks, sounding sheepish.

“Yes.”

The melody that comes out from the speakers makes Keith’s mouth go dry. It’s dark, bass-heavy, sensual. What is Lance doing? Why would he choose a song like that?

Lance takes a deep breath, sends a smirk his way and climbs the rope in swift motions.

_ In the days when they were nights I would burn just like a firefly [3] _

Unlike the other times Keith has seen him dancing, now he isn’t doing any complex figure, he just changes his balance, arching and turning, once using his hands for support, another his back. Every inch of his body is tensed to maintain the stability and it seems an incredibly difficult thing to pull off but he keeps going, letting go of his hands and moving perfectly in time with the thuds of the music. It’s incredible. 

_ Out of touch, and out of sight  I was wrong, but I was doing it right _

Keith is stunned. He realizes that every motion of Lance’s arms is an invitation. He is telling him something, he is  _ daring _ him. And Keith has never been one to back off from a challenge, so he leaves his position to move towards the rope, brushing the bottom of it just as the chorus starts.

_ Come back to me _

_ Come back with me _

He glances up and sees that Lance is looking at him too. He is upside-down, with his knees hooked with the rope and his hands holding to it firmly behind his head. It’s the preparation to that sort of cartwheel he did the first time they had been here like this.

“So? What do you think?” Lance asks.

Keith gulps, not trusting his words. He feels spellbound. Lance smiles softly but Keith notices that he is tightening his grip to steady his position, probably to avoid falling. On instinct, he brings a hand to his shoulder to help. He realizes immediately that he should have thought things more through because the action brings them even closer than they already were, too close, so much that he can now feel Lance’s breath on his lips. Their noses bump for a moment and Keith can’t help the rush of anticipation and want that fills his gut and clouds his judgement, pushing the fear at the back of his mind. Lance does nothing to retreat, though, and the tentative look he gives him feels like a silent question. With his heart hammering in his throat and his cheeks and ears coloring in a darker shade of pink, Keith nods imperceptibly. Lance’s eyes widen in surprise and before any of them could change his mind, he tilts his head down that final inch. Keith meets him halfway, as soon as their lips meet, both of them melt into the kiss. His neck aches and he imagines Lance’s back and his hands must be hurting even more, he probably couldn’t imagine a more uncomfortable position to be in for what they are doing, but he can’t find it in himself to care because Lance’s lips are warm and soft and his sweet scent is surrounding him. He realizes that he has wanted this for so long that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

They part for air and Lance squeals happily before letting go of one leg and then the other and basically launching himself into Keith’s arms. He stumbles but catches him easily, hitting the floor in his place. Lance giggles and mutters an apology but Keith only pulls him closer into his arms, saying that it’s fine, it didn’t hurt. They kiss again, able to huddle together now that they are both on solid ground, with Lance sitting on Keith’s lap and his hands weaving through his hair.

“How did you know that I liked you?” Keith asks breathlessly.

“I didn’t. I suspected you were coming here to see me, since Shiro told me that last time you left as soon as you noticed I wasn’t here... A suspect that you 100 percent confirmed with the way you looked at me when I started this dance.”

Keith laughs. “You are mean. This dance was designed purposefully to kill me.”

“No, I’m not. I’m just an amazing strategist.”

“Hm… I guess you are.”

Lance entwines their fingers together and leans his head over his shoulder. “Thank you, for finding me.”

“I think I am the one who won in the end,” he whispers, kissing the side of his head. 

_ Whales from the water tell me to stay here in the sea _

_ That here, too, there are mountains submerged in the depth _

_ Or we could stay on top of some glacier _

_ Floating, letting the drift take us wherever it wants _

_ [ _ Arranquemos del Invierno - Tú En Las Montañas Y Yo En El Mar _ ] _

**Author's Note:**

> [1] Arranquemos del Invierno - Tú En Las Montañas Y Yo En El Mar  
> [2] Hugh Jackman feat. Zendaya, Keala Settle & Zac Efron - The Greatest Show  
> [3] Mother Mother - Mouth of the Devil


End file.
